Eleaml



JOURNAL

OP THE

STATISTICAL SOCIETY

LONDON.

VOL. V.

LONDON

JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, 445, WEST STRAND.

1842.

01 HTML - Progress of the Two Sicilies under the Spanish Bourbons, from the year 1734-5 to 1840
02 HTML - Progress of the Two Sicilies under the Spanish Bourbons, from the year 1734-5 to 1840

Foreign goods are imported into Naples under the English, French, Spanish, and Sicilian flags. Under the last mentioned all goods are imported that come from non-privileged countries, i. e. from all others than England, France, and Spain, which, by commercial treaties, enjoy a reduction of 10 per cent, upon duties, as already explained.

About two thirds of the domestic produce are exported under the national flag; the remainder goes abroad under flags of other nations. Of olive oil two-fifteenths only are shipped under foreign flags.

The building of merchant ships, promoted by the abundance of materials and the cheapness of workmanship, and encouraged by the granting of bounties for Baltic and Indian voyages,* has made great progress within

* The institution of bounties has enriched importers and foreigners at the cost of the Sicilian public. In 1837 premiums were paid by the treasury of Naples on 11 Baltic or German Ocean, and six Indian, or rather American, voyages, amounting to 80,000 ducats, (13,333 l.) of which sum one part went to the importing merchants, and the other to the exporting countries in the shape of extra taxes on the flag, and

distinguishing the Countries from which the same were imported, year 1840.

Brazil and State of the Rio de la Plati.

France

Great Britain and Colonies

Italian State

Mediterranean Countries

Total.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

• •

1,251

998

805

• •

10,254

• •

242

1,176

5,758

• •

9,101

546

• •

• •

• •

• •

4.037

• •

4,171

33,887

15,099

• •

53,157

• •

660

258

6,024

3,826

10,890

112

84

2,492

1,944

• •

4,632

9,936

3,970

13,124

2,438

5,916

221,599

• •

119

156

298

• •

573

• •

3,929

75

1,257

• •

5,618

• •

19,923

134,980

46,589

445

202,744

• •

218

157,223

3,513

• •

160,954

• •

2,918

10,974

3,766

202

18,609

• •

1,652

1,930

771

• •

7,265

• •

2,644

100

120

• •

2,884

• •

4,319

53,000

8,704

• •

66,927

• •

3,676

19,938

598

• •

26,831

• •

46,477

1,761

1,489

• •

49,731

• •

51,348

131,111

38,018

1,364

261,831

• •

730

• •

• •

• •

1,480

• •

2,131

4,479

• •

• •

6,926

• •

285

3,975

1,495

• •

6,843

• •

549

3.245

4,508

• •

8,302

• •

5,520

113,638

342

5,860

147,916

900

10,532

31,900

14,150

583

53,171

• •

1,339

53,712

442

• •

57,273

• •

5,466

• •

854

9,078

15,538

720

19,512

2,394

8,802

• •

31,428

• •

296

3,346

2,266

• •

16,527

• •

128

416

• •

• •

5,882

• •

264

5,229

945 '

• •

6,466

• •

1,368

8,842

16,312

168

28,733

• •

4,388

7,817

4,40-1

790

17,723

12,214

200,109

802,176

191,711

28,232

1,53,845


vai su


the last twenty years. In 1824 the total capacity of the Neapolitan marine was about 8,000 tons: in 1832 it had reached 99,800: and in 1837 it amounted to 150,634. In the latter year the number of vessels was 7,800, the tonnage of which averaged somewhat less than 20 tons each. Naples can boast of only 10 or 12 coppered ships of moderate burden.

As the Abruzzi, Naples, and Calabria produce timber, hemp, and iron respectively; and as workmen's wages are unusually low, good strong vessels may be built and fitted out for about 10 guineas a ton, or from 25 to 30 per cent, below the cost in the Thames. Manned with frugal Neapolitans, who are paid by the lay or shares of the freight, these

extra duties on the imports from Naples. The value of the freights thus obtained for the Neapolitan marine was about 26,000 ducats, or onethird of the premiums paid out of the public purse. No benefit was reaped by the public consumer. The price of sugar, for instance, imported from the United States of America (which are included under the name of the Indies) was not lowered one farthing in the pound.

184

vessels sail cheaper than British bottoms, the crews of which are paid by the month, and find insurance at Naples and Messina on lower terms than are asked for British vessels at Lloyd's, there being no stamp duty in the Sicilies on policies of insurance. The Neapolitan and Sicilian masters, if less hardy and daring than the British, are more careful of their vessels and cargoes, upon which account they are often preferred by fruit merchants and others for voyages from the Mediterranean to the United Kingdom and the north of Europe.

The state of public industry naturally leads to the constitution of that political body by which the progress of the useful arts is furthered or kept back. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies is governed by an absolute monarch, in whose person the legislative and executive functions are placed as in a centre. The will and pleasure of the sovereign is divulged officially by laws, decrees, regulations, and rescripts. A law is made by the sovereign for general purposes. The draft of a law is first laid before the consulta of state, then brought before the council of state, of which the king is the head, and lastly, is made into a law of the land, in which shape it is put into force by a minister of state. A decree is made by the king to carry the principle of a law into full effect, at the instance of the minister under whose care and attention the law particularly comes. A regulation is made by a minister of state for the better execution of a law or decree. A royal rescript is a decision clearing up doubts as to the meaning of decrees, which proceeds from the king in council.

The principal branches of government are the Ordinary Council of State, the Council of Ministers, the offices of President of the Council of State, the Ministries for Foreign Affairs, Grace, and Justice, Ecclesiastical Affairs, Finances, the Interior, War and Marine, and Police, and the General Consulta of the kingdom.

The last department embraces two sections or particular consulte; one for the affairs of Naples, consisting of sixteen Neapolitans, and one for those Of Sicily, consisting of eight Sicilians. The united sections compose a general consulta for the common concerns of both divisions of the kingdom. The principle of separate rights laid down in the "Second Caserta Decree," of 1816, having given place to the principle of common possession, set forth in a Naples' decree of 31st October, 1837, the subjects of both realms are equally eligible to all civil and ecclesiastical offices. The Sicilians are to hold as many places in Naples as the Neapolitans may hold in Sicily. The great offices of state are not subject to numerical regulation.

The laws of the kingdom are embodied in a code, call the Code of the Two Sicilies, the parts of which are five, namely-

I. Civil laws. II. Penal laws. III. Laws of procedure in civil causes. IV. Laws of procedure in criminal causes. V. Laws of exception in commercial affairs.

The judges by whom these laws are administered are appointed and paid by the king, who has established a scale of rank, in which every magistrate finds his proper place.

A conciliatore, taken from among the principal householders, and recommended by the decurionate to the king, exercises authority in every commune to settle petty quarrels at the instance of the disputants. A judge of circondario, resident in every country town and in every quarter of the chief cities, acts as a civil and criminal authority. A judge of instruction is stationed in every district for the arrest and prosecution of criminal offenders.

185

Tribunals of commerce, whose decisions are final in certain cases, are established in all the principal cities. A civil tribunal in every province pronounces judgment in the first instance in causes of limited value, and admits appeals from minor authorities,whose sentences it reverses or confirms.

A criminal great court, established in every province, decides in the first and last instance in criminal causes, and receives appeals against sentences of judges of circondario. Supreme courts of justice in Naples and Palermo are appeal courts from all tribunals, whether civil or criminal, by which all judges are kept under constant control.

The judicial system, however praiseworthy for the even distribution of magisterial power, is faulty in the immense number of agents required for its daily working. In Naples there are no less than 800 judges and assistants; in Sicily there are 250. They receive from 40 l. a-year, the stipend of a judge of circondario, to 667^., the net salary of the president of the supreme court. The machine works amiss for the public. From the excess in the number of the judges a large body of welleducated men are drawn away from productive, and turned to unproductive occupations; and, further, from the smallness of the salaries, a multitude of magistrates, who, if well paid, would probably act uprightly, are tempted by sheer necessity to act dishonestly.

The interior of the kingdom is governed by a body of civil officers, subject to the ministers at Naples. This department is called the civil administration of provinces, districts, and communes. The Neapolitan dominions are divided into 15 provinces, viz., Naples, Terra di Lavoro, Principato Citra, Principato Ultra, Capitanata, Basilicata, , Terra di Bari, Terra d'Otranto, Abruzzo Citra, Primo Abruzzo Ultra, Secondo Abruzzo Ultra, Calabria Citra, Pririla Calabria Ultra, and Seconda Calabria Ultra. Every province is divided into districts, and every district is distributed into communes or townships.

The Sicilian dominions are divided into seven valli, viz., those of Palermo, Messina, Catania, Noti, Girgenti, Trapani, and Caltanisetta.

The subdivision and distribution of the valli are the same with those of the provinces. The province or valle is governed by an intendente, the district by a subintendente, and the commune by a syndic. The intendente presides over every department of the provincial administration, and regulates certain branches of the military force. The publication of the laws and decrees, the inspection of public works, and the superintendence of local authorities, are but a few of the many duties assigned to this eminent functionary. The subintendente is to the district, and the syndic to the commune, what the intendente is to the province or valle. The intendente is the head of a council of intendency and of a provincial council; the subintendente is the head of a district council, and the syndic that of adecurionate. The council of intendency, which regulates all affairs, and decides all suits concerning the province or valle, consists of from three to five members, who are appointed by the King. The provincial council, which examines the accounts of the district, and frames the provincial budget, is composed of from 15 to 20 landholders, who meet once a year and sit for 20 days.

The district council, authorised to lay proposals on behalf of the district before the provincial council, meets once a year and sits for 15 days. The decurionate assembles once a month to discuss the affairs of the commune.

186

The civil administration is so constituted, that a chain of correspondence is kept up between the syndic of every commune and the minister of the interior, through the intendente and subintendente. This theoretical advantage is accompanied by a practical inconvenience. Communal and district magistrates, who, if left to themselves, would act promptly and vigorously on occasions of danger, often do nothing at all, from being obliged to consult their superiors before they take a decisive step.

The revenue of the kingdom is derived from five principal sources, viz.-I. Direct taxes. II. Indirect taxes. III. Miscellaneous branches. IV. Petty receipts; and, V. Contributions from Sicily.

I. The direct taxes consist of the land tax and the tax on grinding corn. The former, or fondiaria, is levied upon the net rental of all lands, houses, mills, and barns on an average of 10 years, at 12 ½ per cent. The latter, or macino, is levied upon corn ground at the mill, at the rate of about 3s. 2d. a quarter.

II. The indirect taxes consist of the produce of the customs, the navigation dues, the consumption duties, and the royal monopolies of salt, tobacco, gunpowder, playing cards, and snow.

III. The miscellaneous branches consist of the registration and stamps, the lottery, the post office, the mint, the united branches of the sinking fund endowment and the public demesne, the woods and forests, and the crociata or sale of indulgences.

IV. The petty receipts consist of deductions from salaries, fees of office and petty perquisites.

V. The contribution from Sicily consists of the Sicilian quota, or one-fourth of the general revenue, and of the Sicilian debt, payable by instalments to the Neapolitan treasury.

The public expenditure embraces the support of the royal family and that of the state departments, the management of the royal monopolies, and the interest payable to the national creditor.

The following was the budget of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies for 1832:-

REVENUE.



Ducats.

1. Direct taxes;—Landtax, and grinding

8,249,178

2. Indirect taxes;—Customs, navigation and consumption duties, and monopolies, viz. salt, tobacco, gunpowder, saltpetre, playing cards, and snow.



9,930,623

3. Miscellaneous branches;—Registration and stamps, lot tery, post office, mint, sinking fund and public demesne, roads and bridges, and crociata



4,050,023

4. Petty introits, and deductions from salaries, &c

1,104,310

5. Contributions from Sicily, one quarter of public burthens, including civil list.


3,117,701

Deficit

990,672

Total in ducats

27,442,507

sterling £

4,586,084

EXPENDITURE.

Ministerial Department.

Ducats.

Presidency of council of state

15,783

Foreign affairs

314,920

Grace and justice

714,988

Ecclesiastical affairs

40,511

Home department

1,941,425

War C,

6,950,000

Marine

1,410,000

Police

227,956

Re public disbursements in general

11,395,848


Stamp administration, paper machines

36,000


Lottery expences

14,225


Monopolies establishments

436,600


Financial administration

3,944,251




15,826,924

Total in ducats


27,442,507

,, sterling £


4,586,084


vai su


peace establishment army has been fixed by present king at 29,700 infantry, and 4,463 cavalry, making a total 34,163; and war establishment at 61,834 infantry, and 7,864 cavalry, making a total 69,698. To these numbers must be added gensdarmerie for both countries, amounting to 7,859 in Naples, and 372 in Sicily; addition which will raise peape establishment to 42,394, and war to 77,929. expense peace establishment, in 1835, was 7,200,000 ducats, (1,200,000^.) But, although peace establishment is 34,163, including four regiments Swiss infantry, effective strength is probably not more than,27,000, one-fifth every regiment being usually wanting. military force is recruited by a yearly conscription, to which all Neapolitans, certain Glasses excepted, are subject 18 to 25 years ef age. term service is eight years for guards, and five years for line. Sicilians, who have raised regiments their own, are free law conscription. A large proportion officers are not upon muster rolls. A death vacancy among field officers is not filled up by promotion a captain without strong need. duty deceased is done by a who receives no additional pay for doing a major's duty. In rare occurrence a general brevet, one third officers advanced are pros moted for seniority, a second third for merit, and remainder according to king's pleasure.

Neapolitan navy consisted, in 1837, 19 sail vessels, three steamers, and about 30 gunboats. seamen and marines are divided into classesNew Levy and Pianta. men belonging to former class are entitled to retire on full pay after serving 40 years; those who belong to latter obtain their retirement after 27 years. widows and female orphans seamen are allowed pensions, amounting to one sixth pay allotted to their deceased relatives, according to their several ranks.

188

Public instruction in Neapolitan dominions is carried on by means an university, lyceums, and colleges, seminaries, and primary and secondary schools. In University Naples education is divided into five faculties divinity, jurisprudence, medicine, physics, and morals, each which has various professorships attached to it specially. lyceums are those capital and four chief other 11 provinces have colleges or minor lyceums. Some pupils pay for their board and education, and others are free scholars. Secondary schools, or classical and mathematical seminaries, are established in all principal communes; and primary schools, or schools for reading, writing, and arithmetic, are instituted in all communes without distinction.

Youths intended for medical profession are educated at a medical school in metropolis, which is amply supplied with subjects for dissection, and which is closely connected with General Hospital.

principal establishments for female education are first and second Educandati Isabella. In first, which has already been mentioned as having been founded by Caroline Murat, 116 girls, daughters noble parents, are boarded and educated. A certain number, called Queen's Sclwlars, pay 15 l. a others, who form minority, pay 30 l. each. They enter school at eight years age, and remain until 18. Their habitation is airy and commodious; their food good and plentiful; and their education complete in all its branches. second educandato is on same plan with first, but on a smaller scale, and is open to all girls, without distinction rank or parentage. Girls lower orders receive gratuitous instruction in reading, writing, and sewing in schools metropolis.

regular clergy amounted in 1825 to 8,455, and secular clergy to 27,612, making a total churchmen, being to whole population as 1 to 151. In same nuns throughout realm were upwards 8,000 in number.

Sicily.-population Sicily amounted in 1836 to 1,936,033; deducting 136,033 for victims to cholera in 1837, present population may be taken at 1,800,000.

greater portion island belongs to nobility and gentry; smaller portion to Crown, church, and corporate towns, in unequal shares, which that towns is largest and richest. Most landlords reside in Palermo and provincial capital; a few inhabit larger towns, but none live on their estates during whole

agricultural population consists three great classes; Borgesi or yeomanry, Inquilini or small farmers, and Contadini or peasantry. In popular use, however, rustics are divided into " Hats" or Borgesi, and " Caps" or Villani.

higher Borgesi are either small proprietors or middle men, between landlords and tenants; lower Borgesi are quitrenters or copartners. small proprietor ploughs and sows his own land: middleman farms property others upon leases three to nine years. Keeping greater part in his own hands, he lets, out rest to tenants, who pay their rent in kind. quit renters are holders small properties on renewable leases. These are heritable on small fines in same but are not transferable to strangers without consent landlord. copartners are farmers small estates in partnership with landlords.

189

In tillage landlord ploughs field twice or thrice, furnishes seed corn, and makes advances wheat for food. farmer sows seed, gathers crop, and delivers corn to landlord, who keeps about two-thirds for himself, and gives rest to In olive grounds, vineyards, and orangeries, tillage and pruning falls entirely on copartner, who receives about two fifthscrop, and gives rest to landlord.

Inquilini are skilled labourers, owners a few yoke oxen, or or three mules, who till ground in partnership with middlemen.

Contadini are three kinds, yearly servants, monthly servants, and day labourers. servants, found chiefly on large estates, compose four classes. 1st. chief bailiff, who lets out farms for one or years: surveyor, who measures land once a ; and accountant, who keeps books and papers. These people receive each about 301. without provisions.-2d. Upper men, as stewards, mounted guards, chief herdsmen, plough keepers, overseers, &c., who receive about 24 l. a-yearwithout provisions.-3rd. men, as ploughmen, ox-herds, shepherds, and goatherds, muleteers, guards, and dairymen. These earn 31. to 6 l. a-yearbesides food.-4th. Lads, as cowboys, stable-boys, and boys goatherds and shepherds, receiving about 3 l. besides food.

daily provisions men and boys in common, are three and a half pounds coarse bread, and half a pint oil. men receive likewise a quart wine a-day all round, which is given to lads only during summer. In May allowance is larger than usual, and in June, July, and August, which are harvest months, labourers eat and drink without stint or restriction.

monthly servants differ yearly, in receiving a certain quantity wheat instead bread. Their wages are somewhat lower than those persons hired by

day labourer earns in general about a shilling a-day; receiving fourpence in money, and value eightpence in food.

peasantry dwell in dark and filthy hovels, floors which are matted with green stuff, walls plastered with mud, and rafters hung round with cobwebs. A mattress and trestles, or three chairs, a ricketty table, and some earthen pots and pans, are all household furniture a Sicilian labourer. dress peasantry is as dismal as their dwellings are gloomy. Black or brown is prevailing colour. men wear a nightcap, and a hooded cloak over a round jacket, knee breeches, cloth leggings, and heavy shoes: women, muffled up in short cloaks, wear a scanty gown and petticoat, and shuffle about in slippers usually down at heel.

As farm, houses are scarce, labourers live in villages, whence they go forth at sunrise, returning at sunset, when their working place is hard by: when, however, it is far off, peasant rides out on morning, and comes home on Saturday evening. During week he sleeps in a straw hut, or seeks shelter in a grotto or cavern. April until June he works 4 in morning until 8 A.M.; 9 until noon; and , until sunset. He leaves off work in middle day to sleep after dinner. During

190

In southern and eastern parts, beans and wheat are sown alternately. First, beans planted in November, in land twice ploughed in October, are got in in following May: then wheat is sown in November in land twice ploughed as before, to be reaped in June and July following. In interior, and on northern and southern coasts, beans and wheat are followed by a fallow; so that a white crop or a green crop is got in only once in three years. bushels wheat, sown on an acre ground, will yield 16 to 25 bushels at harvest. Twenty bushels may be taken as average return island, or ten for one. principal crops are those wheat, barley, rice, beans, pulse, and seeds; secondary are those barilla, cotton, flax, hemp, shumac, and tobacco.

A good crop corn may be reckoned at 2,000,000 quarters wheat, and 100,000 quarters barley. wheat about 1,800,000 quarters are consumed at home, being at rate one quarter a head for each inhabitant: rest is sent abroad: some goes to Malta, and some to Greece. barley serves chiefly for provender. wheat is mostly hard kind. coarse species is used for household bread; finer sort for macaroni. former weighs about 462 lbs. a quarter, latter 483 lbs. Both species, being too hard to be ground by English millstones, require use French burrs or iron rollers. soft wheat grown in small quantities, and used for French bread, weighs about 476 lbs. a quarter, and being spongy and perishable, is unfit for exportation. barley, which weighs about 378 lbs. per quarter, is not suited for malting.

chief fruits are grape, olive, and citron. Besides these are almond, the carob, nut, chestnut and walnut, common fig and Indian fig, mulberry and melon. white grape is preferred for table: black for press. most esteemed wines are those Marsala and eastern coast, which about 20,000 pipes are exported 15,000 Marsala, and 5,000 eastern coast. entire exportation wine Sicily, which in 1834 was 24,000 pipes, amounted in 1838 to nearly 50,000 pipes.

olive yields about 7,500 tuns oil, which quantity 5,000 are consumed at home, and 2,500 are sent abroad, chiefly to France, by way Nice. Sicilian oil is equal to common Neapolitan, but inferior to clarified oil Gallipoli. citron, which name oranges and lemons are included, is grown in abundance. choice fruit is sent abroad; common sort is sold in market, and refuse serves for purposes chemist. Essential oil is expressed rind, and citric acid is obtained juice.

Sicily compared with Naples is scant timber. In central and southern parts there are few large trees. only forest is that

191

live stock is not remarkable for excellence. native breeds horses, both for draught and riding, are small and feeble. stud Prince Butera, however, spring an English stock, and, managed by an English trainer, is an honourable exception to general statement. mules are commonly weak; but Modica breed is comparable to that Spain for height, strength, and activity. A particular breed oxen, used in husbandry, is remarkable for length its horns, which frequently exceeds three feet. silk worms produce yearly about 460,000 lbs. raw silk, which 360,000 lbs. serve for foreign markets and home manufactures. rest is spun and woven by female peasantry into various articles wearing apparel.

Mining industry may be said to be confined to excavation brimstone or sulphur; extraction salt and alum being too small to be noticed in a general view mining operations.

Sulphur is found within limits a geographical line, which commences at river Maccasoli in valle Girgenti, runs northward as far as Lercara in valle Palermo, trends eastward to Centorbi in valle Catania, and thence runs south-westerly to Terranovain valle Caltanisetta, where it terminates. area sulphur district is about 2,600 English square miles. Destitute timber, and diversified by fruit-trees scattered around villages, it has few charms for stranger, beyond fantastic shape its cliffs and mountains. man science, however, who examines its soil, will find it replete throughout with objects interest. sulphur territory, formation which is tertiary, presents successive strata shell, limestone, white and blue marl, intermixed with banks or beds gypsum, and occasional patches cretaceous matter. sulphur is found imbedded in lowest stratum blue marl, which is distinguished upper one by entire absence shells. district contains about 150 distinct mines, which are capable yielding 750 to 800,000 cantars (about 50 to 80,000 tons) sulphur anrichest mines are those Gallizzi, Sommatino, and Favara, which yearly production has been 100,000, 80,000, and 60,000 cantars respectively.

visitor to a sulphur mine usually descends by a plane or staircase high inclination to first level, where he finds halfnaked miner picking sulphur rock with a huge and heavy tool; boys gathering lumps together, and carrying them up to surface; and, if water be there, pumpmen hard at work draining mine. A similar scene meets his eye in lower or second level. Above ground sulphur is heaped up in piles, or fusing in kilns.

must be forcibly struck with hardy and healthy look miners and burners, to which lean and sickly aspect southern population forms a thorough contrast. life a pickman, which is sometimes said to be hard and wearisome compared with that peasant, is in reality easy and suitable to Sicilian taste. His

working days do not exceed 250 in the year, and his; hours of labour are only six in the day. Left, therefore, with 18 hours a day to himself, he passes three-fourths of his time in eating, drinking, sleeping, and lounging about his village.

192

Satisfied with animal existence, the pickman seeks not intellectual pleasures at the cost of increased exertion. His wages rise and fall with the price of the mineral; from 16d. to 20d. a-day for himself, and about half as much for each of his boys, are reckoned good earnings. The pump-men are ill-paid labourers compared with the pickmen. Their daily toil, if lighter, is longer and less intermitted; and their occupation is productive of sickness rather than conducive to health. Constantly drawing in sulphuretted hydrogen gas, which escapes from the agitated water, they suffer so severely in their eyes as often to become blind for 24 hours. They work for eight hours a-day, and earn from Is. To 1s. 4d. each. The burners, who extract the sulphur by fusing the ore in kilns made of gypsum and stone, or sometimes in close vessels or furnaces, usually earn about Is. a-day.

The sulphur thus obtained by liquation, when hardened into cakes, is taken down to the coast by carriers and muleteers. These are mostly small farmers, who are paid by the load, according to the time of the year, and the demand for their services. Being seldom trustworthy people, these carriers are engaged by a warranter, who, for less than Id. a cantar, becomes answerable for the safe delivery of the sulphur at the shipping place. To Palermo and Catania the sulphur is conveyed in carts: to the southern ports it is carried down on mules and asses.

Such is the working part of a mining establishment. The overlookers are mining captains, clerks, and a manager. The mining captain, chosen from among the pickmen for his knowledge of the mine, examines the veins, and directs the operation. As the righthand man of the manager, he is looked upon, by the pickmen and others, as a person whose good opinion it is worth while to cultivate. Living in a substantial and commodious house, and dressing in a neat and becoming manner on Sundays and holidays, he holds a respectable place in village society. He usually resides a few miles from the works, but in some cases he dwells at the mine, where he is required to be in constant attendance from morning till night. His wages are from 2s. to 4s. a-day; but many unlawful perquisites raise his earnings to a higher amount. After a few years constant employment in a rich and extensive mine, he is usually able to retire with a competence sufficient for his limited wants. The clerks and watchmen, who keep account of piece work and labourers, time, who receive the fused sulphur, and weigh it out to the carriers, and who reside at the mine, to take care of the works, usually earn from Is. 8d. to 2s. 8d. a-day. The manager or head agent, acts as treasurer and trustee for the owners or lessees of the mine. Aided by the mining captain and the clerks, he engages and pays the workmen, and keeps the general accounts. His salary is from 4s. to 6s. 8d. a-day. His gains are perhaps double this amount: so that he often makes his fortune in the course of a few years.

The number of persons regularly employed in the sulphur mines has been estimated at 4,400, viz., 1,300 pickmen, 2,600 boys, 300 burners, and 200 clerks and others, to which, if 3,600 persons occasionally employed, viz., 2,600 carriers, and 1,000 wharfingers, be added, the total amount will be 8,000 persons, more or less engaged in the extraction of ore, and the exportation of sulphur. A small portion of the sulphur carried down to Girgenti serves for the use of a royal refinery, whence it is exported to France and Austria in powder and in rolls.

193

Previous to the sulphur contract, the chief part was sent in cakes to England, France, Holland, Russia, and the United States, in the proportion of three-sixths to England, two-sixths to France, and the rest to other countries.

In the Sicilian market sulphur is divided into first, second, and third qualities of Licata, (each of which is subdivided into best, good, and current,) and into first and second quality of Girgenti, with the like subdivisions. The first and second qualities of Girgenti correspond with the second and third of Licata. The sulphur of Palermo, Catania, and Terranova come under the Licata division, and that of Sciacca and Siculiana, under the head of Girgenti.

. In former times, when the use of sulphur was confined to medicinal purposes and the manufacture of gunpowder, the exportation was small, but as soon as the mineral was applied to the making of carbonate of soda,* the amount became ^considerable. The exportation to foreign ports from 1832to 1838 was as follows.-

Years.

Cantars.


1832

400,890


1833

495,769


1834

676,413


1835

661,775


1836

855,376


1837

764,244


1838 (7 Months)

1,011,591


Total

4,866,058

= 374,312 Tons.


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Being at the rate of 739,140 cantars, or 56,857 tons per annum.

In 1838 a monopoly of the sulphur trade was established under the name of a privileged company. Its origin and progress until the close of the year 1839 have already been described in the "Journal of the Statistical Society."f

The subsequent course of events may be briefly narrated. In the commencement of 1840 the representations of the British merchants, supported by their minister at Naples, and sanctioned by their government at home, having failed to accomplish the abolition of the monopoly, reprisals were made upon Neapolitan commerce by the British fleet in the Mediterranean, the result of which was, that the contract was dissolved by a royal decree of the 21st July, 1840. The export duty of 20 tari per cantar was transferred from the company to the Crown, by whose officers it continues to be levied. On the 1st of January, 1842, its rate was lowered to eight tari per cantar.

The principal manufactures are those of leather, cotton, and silk.

Leather.-15 tanneries near Palermo, Messina, and Catania dress about * 70,000 hides and 40,000 skins. The Sicilian leather is superior to the Neapolitan, but not equal to the English or French.

* Carbonate of soda is made of salt and sulphuric acid. The muriatic acid in the salt is neutralized, and the salt is converted into sulphate of soda through the agency of the sulphuric acid. The sulphate of soda is then put into a furnace with coal and lime, when the sulphuric acid quits the soda to unite with the lime, forming gypsum or sulphate of lime, and is replaced by the carbonic acid given out by the coals, forming carbonate of soda.

194

The capital invested in the trade does not exceed 100,000 l. The hours of labour are 11 a day: the workmen earn from 8d. to 2s. 8d. per diem.

Cotton.-There are two spinning factories in Sicily; one, moved by steam power, was set up at Trapani about two years ago, and the other, moved by horse power, at Palermo, is scarcely twelve months old. The former spins native cotton, from No. 16 to No. 20; the latter from No. 6 to No. 16. At both, adults earn about Is. a day, and children about 3jrf. The hours of labour at the Trapani factory are 13, and at Palermo 11. Weaving is chiefly done at Palermo by women, who earn about Is. a day in making plain goods. Double wages are paid to men who make twills. Both men and women work 12 hours a day. The articles woven are nankeens, ginghams, striped and checked, long cloths, cotton duck, and mattressing. At Messina, weaving is done partly in factories, and partly at home. The factories are two, those of Ainis and Ruggieri. Gaetano Ainis, with 500 handlooms and flyshuttle, produces yearly from 153,123 lbs. of English and Neapolitan yarn, about 37,500 pieces of cotton cloth of 28 yards each. He employs about 1,018 people, viz., 110 men, 574 women, and 334 children, who are paid by the piece, at the rate of 9 ½ d. for white muslins, and 2s. 4d. for ginghams. A weaver, working from sunrise to sunset in summer, and from 5 A.M. to 7 P.M. in winter, can make from one to three pieces of the above articles in a week. Of the above quantity 32,500 pieces are destined for printing, in which department 268 persons are usually employed. The factory of the brothers Ruggieri is equal to that of Ainis in point of men and machinery, and perhaps superior in amount of yearly production.

At Catania the weaving is all done at home, by handlooms. Such weavers as have no loom of their own hire one from the master manufacturer. The operatives are not subject to rules, but work as much and as long as they please. The hours of labour are 14 a day, exclusive of one hour of rest. A firstrate weaver will earn about Is. & day; an ordinary one will get not more than 8d. or 10d. The work is not constant, but subject to stoppages, insomuch, that the number of working days in the year averages only 266.

Silk.-The silk manufacture is carried on in the cities of Palermo, Messina, Catania, and Aci Reale, where about 550 looms give employment to upwards of 1,200 weavers and others. In Catania, where the hours of labour are twelve a day, a woman can earn, as a reeler or picker, 6d., and a girl, as a wheelturner or sorter, 4d. A man, as a weaver working at home, can earn from Is. 2d. to Is. 6d. a day in summer, and proportionally less in winter, as he can work by daylight only. At Palermo every part of the process, from the reeling to the weaving, is carried on by a Mr. Pavin, who employs about 20 male adults, and 60 women and girls. A woman, working nine hours a day, may earn about 8d. in reeling; a girl may earn about id. in turning, or 2d. in winding. A male weaver, working ten hours a day, may earn in plain fabrics Is. 4d., in fancy work Is. 8d., and in damasked 2s. 8d., out of which sums he must pay his piecer 4d. The articles woven are satins plain and striped, broche, gros de Naples plain and checked, taffety, tartan handkerchiefs, and barfeges with open work.

The Sicilian fisheries are the General, the tunny, the sword, the anchovy and sardine, and the coral.

I. The General fishery in Palermo employs about 3,600 men and boys, and yields a produce valued at 22,000l. per annum.

195

The fishermen compose two guilds, each of which has a handsome income, arising from a tax of about 3 per cent, on the value of the fish brought to market, and destined to the relief of the poor, the attendance of the sick, and the burial of the dead.

II. The tunny fisheries, 20 in number, give employment to about 280 boats, and 600 men and boys, who earn respectively about 2l. 10s. and 1l. 5s.in the course of May and June, to which months the fishery is limited. The rais or captain of each party receives from 8d. to 10d. a day; the mate 6d., and the foreman 5d.

III. The sword fishery is carried on at Messina and Palermo for the supply of the home market.

IV. The anchovy and sardine fishery, on the northern and southern coasts, is of small extent and little value.

V. The coral fishery at Bona, in Africa, gives employment to the Trapanese, who gather the raw material and polish and prepare it for the manufacturers and merchants of Naples and Leghorn.

The home trade, the trade with Naples, and the trade with foreign countries, constitute the general commerce of Sicily.

I. The maritime part of the home trade is carried on by small craft of lateen rig, which ply from port to port at all seasons of the year; and the inland part by means of one horse carts, where there are carriage roads,* and of beasts of burden where there are only mule tracks.

II. The cabotage, or trade between the Two Sicilies, has already been described.

III. The foreign trade embraces the same classes of countries that have been specified under the head of Naples. Its extent was as follows in 1840:-

Summary of the Foreign Trade of Sicily in the year 1840.

Countries

Imports

Exports

Total


£.

£.

£.

United States

40,812

244,720

285,532

Baltic

15,906

37,358

53,264

Belgium and Germany

88,292

128,839

217.131

Brazil and Plate

• •

34,950

34,950

France

131,890

272,404

404,384

Great Britain and colonies

288,228

425,819

714,0-17

Italian Status

111,278

95,002

206,340

Mediterranean countries

08,036

62,542

130,578

Total

744,442

1,301,784

2,046,226

The three following statements show, first, the quantities and value, according to customhouse registration and consular appraisement, of the principal articles imported into Sicily in 1840; secondly, a similar account of the exports from Sicily in the same year; and, thirdly, the shipping employed in foreign commerce, distinguishing national from foreign vessels, in the same year:-

* The aggregate length of the Sicilian carriage roads scarcely exceeds 400 miles.

A Statement of the Quantities and Value of Imports into Sicily, distinguishing


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Articles

United States

The Baltic

Belgium and Germany

Brazil

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

Colonial Produce









Cocoa..cwts

• •

• •

• •


182

436


• •

Coffee..cwts

• •

• •

• •

• •

1,020

2,295

• •

• •

Indigo..chests

2

62

• •

• •

34

1,054


• •

Popper..cwts

1,390

2,198

• •

• •

204

285


• •

Spices..cwts

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Sugar..cwts

6,790

17,380

1,200

1,800

1,014

1,521

• •

• •

Rum..galls.

1,080

180

• •

• •

• •



• •

Woods..cwts.

2,256

2,968

• •

• •

234

1,138

• •

• •

Manufactvres









Cotton goods..pkgs

• •

• •

• •

• •

14

490

• •

• •

,, yarn …..cwts

343

2,420

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

and Linen goods..pkgs

• •

• •

• •

• •

14

630

• •

• •

,, and Wool ditto..pkgs

61

4,575

• •

• •

2

110

• •

• •

Earthenware aud Glass

• •

• •

• •

• •

417

5,580

• •

• •

Fancy goods..pkgs

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Hardwares..pkgs

• •

• •

• •

• •

143

4,400

• •

• •

Linens..pkgs

• •


• •

• •

184

9,300

• •

• •

Silks..pkgs

• •

• •

• •

• •

8

800

• •

• •

Woolleus..pkgs

• •

• •

• •

• •

239

25,850

• •

• •

Miscellancous









Brass..cwts

• •

• •

• •

• •

23

150

• •

• •

Copper…..cwts

• •

• •

• •

• •

415

2,383

• •

• •

Copperas…..cwts

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Coals…..tons

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Deal Board..No

• •

• •

14,670

733

156,950

8,938

• •

• •

Drugs and Colours..pkgs

• •

770

• •

• •

188

2,983

• •

• •

Fish Cod..cwts

• •

• •

4,320

2,592

• •

• •


• •

Fish Herrings..barr

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Fish Stock..cwts

• •

• •

6,420

4,494

• •

• •

• •

• •

Hides..cwts

• •

• •


• •

3,281

9,186

• •

• •

Iron..cwts

• •

• •

1,234

617

2,518

1,634

• •

• •

Leather..cwts

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Pitch and tar..barr

419

510

1,140

1,684

• •


• •

• •

Stationery and Books.pkgs

• •

• •

• •

• •

22

502

• •

• •

Steel..cwts

• •

• •

• •

• •

3,013

4,337

• •

• •

Skins..bales

• •

• •

• •

• •

29

1,950

• •

• •

Tin in bars..cwts

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Tin platea..boxes

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Saltpetre..cwts

634

1,123

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Lead..cwts

• •

.,

• •

• •

142

113

• •

• •

Tobacco..cwts

,859

2,757

• •

• •

1,156

1,115

• •

• •

Wax..cwts

829

5,325

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Wool..lbs

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Miscellaneous

• •

544

• •

3,986

••

1,110

• •

• •

Total value

••

40,812

••

15,906

• •

88,292

• •

• •

France

Great Britain

and Colonies

Italian States

Other Countries

Total

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

480

1,476

• •

• •

307

65.1

119

329

1,088

3,096

388

871

549

1,233

1,551

3.483

4,99

11,153

8,494

19,035

34

1,054

44

1,364

10

310

• •

• •

124

3,844

1,254

1,755

240

336

224

313

• •

• •

3,312

4,887

147

712

45

520

1,820

5,716

• •

• •

2,012

6,948

2,272

3,408

19,274

40,173

4,592

7,246

765

39,397

45,907

110,925

114

11

• •

• •

• •

• •

332

238

3,576

429

274

492

42

185

300

1,223

• •

• •

3,106

6,006

137

5,170

749

35,300

69

3,000

• •

• •

969

43,960

• •

• •

7,960

54,083

231

1,402

• •

• •

8,543

57,905

• •

• •

40

1,800

12

540

• •

• •

66

2,970

41G

30,680

602

43,470

382

27,890

• •

• •

1,463

106,725

239

5,330

469

6,428

5

50

• •

• •

1,130

17,388

64

6,400

28

2,800

28

3,000

• •

• •

120

12,200

243

19,750

92

6,650

58

5,350

• •

• •

536

36,150

44

2,300

18

900

40

2,000

• •

• •

286

14,500

126

11,300

28

2,700

147

11,825

• •

• •

309

26,625

43

6,400

85

12,700

24

3,500

• •

• •

391

48,450

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •


• •

• •

23

150

• •

• •

64

358

240

1,344

• •

• •

719

4,085

• •

• •

15

20

• •

• •

• •

• •

15

20

• •

• •

4,594

5,728

• •

• •

• •

• •

4,594

5,728

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

112

705

185,732

10,376

320

4,223

99

1,601

254

4,269

98

930

1,036

14,828

2,084

1,250

4,140

3,980

844

506

• •

• •

11,388

8,328

• •

• •

465

782

60

75

• •

• •

522

857

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

.

6,420

4,494

3,687

11,058

2,298

7,055

4,716

15,793

664

5,296

15,646

48,388

• •

• •

75,589

41,496

125

160

• •

• •

79,466

43,907

47

600



56

720

• •

• •

103

1,320

58

116

120

240

501

412

• •

• •

2,239

2,962

22

502

4

76

2 8

586

2

38

78

1,701

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

3,013

4,337

20

1,000

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

49

2,950

• •

• •

228

832

328

1,197

• •

• •

556

2,029

• •

• •

2,378

5,149


• •

• •

• •

2,378

5,149

80

150

593

981

363

647

31

60

1,721

2,961

7,070

8,742


• •

312

249

• •

• •

7,524

9,104

694

1,145

1,124

1,577

784

1,073

• •

• •

5,617

7,667

434

1,302

75

744

432

3,026

• •

• •

1,770

10,397

100

50

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

100

50

• •

4,643

• •

6,967

• •

3,518

• •

9,840

• •

30,608

• •

131,890

• •

288,228

• •

111,278

• •

68,036

• •

744,442


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Articles.

United States.

Baltic.

Belgium and Germany.

Brazil and States of Rio de la Plata.




Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value




£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

Argots & Cream of Tartar

2,301

1,473

1,292

1,679

4,986

6,481

• •

• •

Barilla..............cwts

8,956

3,310

703

246

11,566

5,640

• •

• •

Brimstone.......cwts

22,598

8,395

4,302

3,195

41,664

16,926

• •

• •

Cantharides....cwts

12

264

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Cheese............cwts

• •

• •

• •

• •

29

43

• •

• •

Corn,Grain and Pulse

1,614• •

3,066

• •

• •

39

87

• •

• •

Cotton Wool cwts.

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Essences....... lbs.

8,995

2,096

2,300

517

64,262

14,438

• •

• •

Fish, salted...cwts.

• •

• •

260

455

2,232

3,976

• •

• •

Fruits Dry and

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Fruits Orangcs

18,818

29,907

836

1,254

8,612

9,529

• •

• •

Fruits Lemons box

325,240

60,857

16,375

3,275

129,719

25,905

• •

• •

Lemon Juice...galls.

4,628

694

8,880

1,332

18,424

2,763

• •

• •

Linseed.......….qrs.

11,210

20,763

• •

• •

8,869

15,834

17

• •

Liquorice Paste cwts

2,354

4,467

879

1,539

997

1,737

• •

• •

Manna..............cwys

4,975

13,958

18

198

400

1,135

• •

• •

Oils Linseed.....galls

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Oils Olive.........galls

61,709

11,063

62,050

9,333

89,102

13,216

13,032

2,43*

Rags................cwts

24,931

16,752

453

408

• •

• •

• •

• •

Salt …..............tons

1,606

1,688

10,767

5,929

2,150

870

• •

• •

Seeds..............cwts.

2,662

1,432

306

153

753

612

• •

• •

Shumac...........cwts.

76,551

29,943

2,270

970

3,637

1,454

• •

• •

Silks.................lbs.

6,837

3,531

152

152

922

922

• •

• •

Skins …............No.

• •

• •

• •

• •

77,411

2,549

• •

• •

Wine & Spirits galls.

301,278

25,540

16,132

4,839

20,668

2,988

89,462

26,831

Wool …...........cwts.

• •

• •

• •

• •

12

27

• •

• •

Other Articles

• •

5,521

• •

1,884

••

1,657

• •

5,641

Total Value

• •

244,720

• •

37,358

• •

128,839

• •

34,950

Countless

Vessels

Tonnage

Crews

Vessels

Tonnage.

Crews

British

American

French

Sicilian

Sardinian

Others

631*

102

71

5,173+

158

484

66,593

26,719

6,977

260,244 21,093

77,893

5,353

1,160

740

51,453

1,647

4,266

613*

98

76

4,374+

162

386

63,808

25,744

7,208

226,343 21,547

77,904

5,278*

1,110

787

45,916+

1,685

4,735

Total

6,619

459,519

64,619

5,709

422,554

59,511


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France

Great Britain and Colonies.

Italian States

Other Countries

Total.

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

Quantities

Value

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

£.

374

390

838

918

1,062

1,354

437

568

11,290

12,863

656

229

23,559

9,739

2,970

1,086

2,812

984

51,222

21,234

431,400

93,042

567,100

122,928

• •

• •

• •

• •

1,067,782

244,731

53

1,166

42

908

7183

245 66

• •

• •

110

2,404

• •

• •

2,641

3,974

515

735

845

1,611

4,030

6,363

3,486

8,66&

6,649

7,857

920

1,059

6,314

10,556

18,983

31,206

• •

• •

• •

• •

10

22

• •

• •

49

109

27,372

6,059

38,811

8,732

9,100

1,989

r,8i4

408

152,654

34,239

1,062

1,888

1,024

1,636

142

258

1,312

2,296

6,032

10,509

6,212

13,346

6,445

8,116

73,030

18,982

5,432

13,241

119,387

94,435

6,424

1,265

58,507

12,053

3,117

674

32,163

6,432

571,545

110,461

66,422

9,963

40,341

6,051

1,220

183

322

48

140,237

21,034

1,051

1,902

11,401

20,861

606

1,170

916

1,648

34,070

62,212

393

751

1,503

2,809

599

1,067

1,416

2,478

8,141

14,848

1,322

3,967

6,629

14,607

1,094

2,904

3

33

14,441

36,852

• •

• •

• •

• •

5,512

694

• •

• •

5,512

694

455,011

57,637

406,552

50,697

222,892

31,426

46,231

6,514

1,356,579

182,324

140

126

4,263

3,758

5,169

4,571

420

378

35,376

25,993

• •

• •

114

57

3,454

1,201

12,257

5,753

30,348

15,498

601

372

11,128

3,043

937

489

1,367

683

17,754

6,784

21,922

8,538

109,079

41,976

19,779

6,872

2,141

909

235,379

SO,662

46,528

46,528

27,683

27,683

2,285

2,285

• •

• •

84,407

81,101

162,462

5,23S

849,700

25,019

18,141

595

1,621

53

1,109,335

33,454

13,956

3,346

1,586,865

43,876

176,749

6,134

25,441

3,097

2,230,551

116,658

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

12

27

• •

8,073

• •

8,461

• •

9,001

• •

4,852

• •

45,089

• •

272,494

• •

425,819

• •

95,062

• •

62,542

• •

1,301,784

The mercantile marine, as already stated, consisted, in 1806, of nothing but small craft. The repairs of the British fleet between 1806 and 1810 raised up a body of shipwrights, who, after the suppression of Algerine piracy in 1816, began to build vessels of larger size than usual for the trade between Naples and Sicily. Encouraged by differential duties granted in its favour, the mercantile marine has ever since made steady and signal advances. In 1819 it consisted of-


Tons

109 vessels of all rigs, measuring

5,228

In 1823, of 89 square-rigged vessels measuring

11,347

And 1,348 lateen-rigged ditto

14,497

Total 1,437 vessels of all rigs

25,844

In 1821, of 89 square-rigged

21,672

And 1,891 lateen-rigged

20,128

Total 2,058 vessels of all kinds

41,800

The government of Sicily is vested in a lord-lieutenant, (having under him a secretary, a consultore, and other officers,) who corresponds with all the ministers of state, through whom the king's orders are communicated relative to Sicilian affairs.

The civil administration, already described under the head of General Government, directs and controls all charitable institutions, of which there are five in Palermo, two in Messina, and a few in the provincial capitals.

1. The Foundling Hospital of Palermo receives all children deposited in the wheel, without inquiry, and without distinction of sex. About half the foundlings die within the second year. Of those which survive ill nursing, the girls are taught needlework and household duties, and at a proper age are put out to service; the boys are taught to read and write, and are sent to the school of industry, where, from seven years old to 14 they learn music or handicrafts, according as they are destined for the military band or for mechanical occupations. The revenue of the hospital is about 4,000 l. per annum.

2. The Mendicant Asylum was founded in 1837, shortly after the visitation of the cholera, for the board and lodging of the metropolitan beggars. The paupers are employed in the cotton, linen, and woollen manufactures, and in trades and handicrafts. Dressed in the plainest clothes, and fed on the simplest fare, they are kept to work incessantly, four days in the year excepted, when they are allowed to see their friends. Severity, however, is tempered with kindness. Carefully taught the useful arts, released from labour when sick or feeble, skilfully treated when ill, and provided with religious teachers, the paupers are placed in a building where no exertions are spared for the purpose of training them up to industry and promoting their moral improvement. They are supported at a cost of about 61. a head per annum out of the communal funds, voluntary contributions, and the sale of manufactures.

3. The Albergo de Poveri, endowed by Charles III. and by pious testators, provides about 800 paupers with lodging, board, and clothes.

4. The General Hospital receives the sick and hurt of all kinds, to whom it affords medical and surgical assistance. Its practice and arrangements have won the approbation of English practitioners, by whom it has often been visited.

5. The Royal Madhouse takes in about 130 paupers. The accommodations are suited to all classes of patients. The poorer sort are supported out of the revenue of the hospital, which amounts to about 2,000 l. a year. The richer are maintained, either wholly or in part, by their respective friends.

Such are the means of relief provided for the poor of Palermo. If they fail or miss their effect, poverty has but one resource to satisfy its cravings, namely the Monte di Pietd, or office of the public pawnbroker. Here money is advanced upon gold, silver, jewels, household furniture, and wearing apparel, at 5 per cent, for six months, or 6 per cent, per annum, according to circumstances. The lowest sum advanced is Is. Forfeited pledges are sold by auction, and the excess of price over the rate of profit obtained at such sale is paid to the owner of the article. The profits of the establishment, amounting to about 6,000 l. per annum, are distributed among the charitable institutions of Palermo.

The provision for the poor of Messina is limited to two hospitals and a Monte di Pieta. The Great Hospital, with an income of 2,650 l. per annum, accommodates 500 patients of both sexes.

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A foundling hospital, attached to the establishment, receives about 60 children of both sexes. The Hospital of Callereale, with an income of about 2,000 l. a-year, admits patients of the male sex only. The Monte di Pietà is similar to that of Palermo.

State Revenue of Sicily in1838.
HEADS OF TAXES. PRODUCE OF TAXES.

HEADS OF TAXES.

PRODUCE OF TAXES.


Ounces

£.

Ounces

£.

Direct.



465,000

232,500

Land-tax

611,314

305,657



Indirect

• •

• •



Excise

397,938

198,969



Customs and navigation

126,335

63,668



Lottery

97,229

48,614



Registration

52,800

26,400



Stoppages of salaries

19,506

9,753



Post office

17,761

8,881



Miscellaneous

167,281

83,640



Gross Total of Indirect Taxes

1,493,164

746,582



Deductions there from

232,426

116,213



Net amount of Indirect Taxes

• •

• •

1,260,738

630,369

Total Revenue

• •

• •

1,725,738

862,869

HEADS.

AMOUNT.





Ounces.

£.

Ounces.

£.

Contribution to Naples



978,286

489,143

Payments to Sicilian Ex-chequer, viz.— Indirect taxes





51,348

25,674



Divers branches

59,961

29,980



Particular administrations

87,245

43,622



Other departments

781,324

390,633






979,878

489,939

Total Expenditure

• •

• •

1,958,164

979,082

The revenue of Sicily, as shown in the foregoing table, is drawn from a single head of direct taxation, and from eight heads of indirect.

Direct.-The land tax was first imposed in 1810, when the injudicious use of triple basis produced a striking inequality in the general assessment, which has not yet been fully adjusted. In some cases the rate is under 12 ½ per cent on the net rental, in others it exceeds 25 per cent.

202

indirect taxes, first head, excise, has branches, viz., multure or tax upon corn ground, and meat tax or tax upon butchers' meat. former amounts to 3s. Id. on a quarter wheat in smaller towns, and to 4s. 6d. on same in cities. latter tax is levied in capitals provinces, at rate a halfpenny a pound upon all kinds flesh.

second head, customs and navigation, is farmed out to a company, which has engaged to pay government 473,333 ounces, (236,666 l.) per annum for six years, 1st January, 1840, date new contract.

third head, lottery, is baneful, as low price tickets places public gambling within reach and means humblest and classes.

fourth head, registration, applies to judicial acts and mortgages on estates.

fifth head, stoppages salaries, comprises 2 ½ per cent, contribution to superannuation fund, 10 per cent, official income tax, and six months, savings on civil and military vacancies.

smallness sixth head, post office, bears due proportion to contracted scale internal communication.

seventh head, crusade, arises sale indulgences for eating milk, and cheese in Lent. It was originally destined for defence country against Barbary cruizers, but since suppression Algerine piracy, it has been applied to general purposes.

eighth head, miscellaneous, includes a tax upon merchants, and licences for carrying arms.

expenditure Sicily embraces heads: contribution to treasury and payment to exchequer Sicily Proper.

first head concerns support interests common to both divisions kingdom, as royal household, state departments, national debt, &c., &c. payments specially applicable to Sicily, Nos. 1, 2, and 3, include salaries and allowances Sicilian authorities. No. 4 comprises separate debt Sicily, which stood as follows in 1838:-


Ounces.

£.

Due to public bodies

119,51

59,754

Due to private persons

60,64

30,322

Total

180,15

90,076


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education youth still remains in hands clergy. Reading and catechism are taught gratuitously in primary schools, and writing and arithmetic in secondary schools established in metropolis and in larger towns. Instruction in rudiments Latin is given in Jesuits, schools in six smaller cities, and in colleges and academies in 21 principal towns. Greek, Latin, logic, and mathematics are studied in Universities Palermo and Catania; and divinity is taught in diocesan seminaries in all chief cities. best public schools for boys are called Jesuits' school and school for nobles, in Jesuits, College at Palermo. In former children poor are instructed gratuitously in classics; in

203

daughters nobility are for most part brought up in convents 10 till 18 years age. They are taught by elder nuns to read and say their prayers, to sew, knit, and embroider. Writing and arithmetic, French, and music are taught by masters at grating parlour. Nothing else is thought necessary for females to learn. general charge for board and a plain education is 9 l. per annum. A small sum, however, is payable at entrance; a few extra charges are common, and a handsome present is usually made at departure to prioress, or convent chest. whole expense may be reckoned at 15 l. per annum.

18 until 21 years age pupil, who is supposed to have completed her education, may remain in house as a boarder, subject to all rules in common with scholars. Upon coming full age she must leave convent, or enter as a novice, in which latter case, at end her noviciate, which is limited to a twelve-month, she must either take vows or go home to her friends. Girls lower orders are taught reading, writing, and sewing in free schools, or Collegi di Maria, endowed by testators, in capital and principal towns.

state literature, science, and arts is altogether unsatisfactory. periodical press, subject to a censorship, sends forth little beyond monthly and semi-weekly publications, compiled foreign journals, and barren general interest. most distinguished authors are Duke Serra di Falco, who has published a fine work on Sicilian antiquities, and Prince Scordia, who has written with great talent upon Sicilian history in modern times. Tineo as a botanist, and Villareale as a sculptor, deserve honourable mention in their several walks.

only public worship, exercise which is lawful, is that Roman Catholic Church. rituals Eastern Church, which acknowledges Papal supremacy, are allowed to six Greek colonies long settled in Sicily. Greeks five communities follow rule united branches; those Messina adopt that schismatic section.

regular clergy consist 23 orders, whose united members amount to nearly 8,000 brethren.* secular body comprises about 10,000 members. beneficed portion consists cathedral clergy; unbeneficed parish priests and chaplains.

archbishops are those Palermo, Messina, and Catania. They have them 10 suffragan bishops, all whom, in common with metropolitans,

* professed nuns in all Sicily are in number about 5,000, whom 1,500 reside in Palermo. They inhabit convents, well endowed for most part by founders and testators, and by professing nuns and wealthy widows. Their large estates are managed by priests and lawyers control a visitor or guardian. society is answerable to no superior for disposal its property; but prioress is stnctly accountable to bishop diocese for maintenance order and discipline.

204

are appointed by

king, and confirmed by pope. canons and prebendaries are nominated by king or by prelates, according to local usage.

prelates and dignitaries derive greater part their incomes landed estates. One-third Episcopal revenue is distributed among pensioners named by king; another third is applied to cathedral repairs and charitable ; and remaining third is left to bishop for maintenance his dignity.

parish priests are elected bishop and his court, after a public examination, among chaplains or curates. Most them are paid by communes, but a few are supported by glebes attached to certain livings in gift lay patrons.

number parochial clergy is insufficient for due discharge their weighty and manifold duties. Not only do baptism, marriage, Lord's supper, and burial dead belong to parish priests and chaplains, but heavy tasks confessional, attendance on sick and dying, and visitation prisons and hospitals fall to their laborious lot. Attendance on sick often lasts a whole week, during which time priest after priest takes his place beside sufferer to administer sacrament, to bestow holy unction, and to afford him in his last agony consolations religion. Nor is jt only occasional duty which occupies parochial In a country where mass is said daily, no day rest is allowed to parish priest. His ministration is therefore incessant. Were, then, these duties to fall wholly upon parochial clergy, they would go undischarged. It therefore becomes necessary to call in cathedral clergy and regulars, in order to supply deficiency secular ministers. But if parish priests, viewed in abstract, be too few for their manifold duties, clergy, taken as a body, are too numerous for useful purposes. This excess in their numbers springs three causes. First, facilities afforded to divinity students for obtaining instruction at little or no cost are abundant, compared with those for completing a medical or legal education. In next place, middle orders are anxious to raise their children in scale society, by placing them in a profession, honours and emoluments which are open to all, without distinction persons. And, lastly, nobility all ranks are deterred by pride and prejudice bringing up their sons to army and navy, learned professions, and walks industry. These combined motives tend to swell number regular and secular clergy to an amount disproportionate to religious wants community.

doctrine and discipline Sicilian church are founded on canon law and decisions Council Trent. power dispensation canonical rules is exercised sanction civil authorities. government church is vested in archbishops and bishops, each whom can suspend a priest or excommunicate a layman for neglect duty or breach discipline. This terrible power is cautiously exercised. ordinary appeal lies to metropolitan, and metropolitan to judge monarchy, whose decision is final.

officer last named is peculiar to Sicily. Always a regular or

205

CHAPTER X.

PAST, PRESENT, AND TO COME; STATE AND PROSPECTS COUNTRY.

brought down history divisions country to present time, it may be well to cast a retrospect on chief objects interest that have come observation. these we may particularly notice four, namely, Increase Population, Advance Industry, Changes in Government, and Vicissitudes in Public Instruction. Each these great objects deserve special consideration.

I. inhabitants both have much increased since accession Charles Third.

1734 to about

4,000,000

1781 to

4,709,976

1819 to

5,034,191

1828 to

5,733,430

1840 to

6,177,598

have therefore increased about 2,000,000 in 106 years, being at rate about one-half per cent, per annum. Sicilians amounted in-

1735 to about

1,000,000

1798 to

1,600,000

1840 to

1,800,000

They have, therefore, increased about three-quarters a million in 105 years, being at rate about four-fifths per cent, per annum.

II. In both every branch industry was in a decayed or drooping state at era conquest. Husbandry was backward, and trade was stagnant; manufactures were stationary; fisheries were neglected, and mines were abandoned. Improvement took place reigns Charles Third and Ferdinand his Bon, plough, loom, and anvil, became busy throughout land. Trade with foreign countries sprang up by degrees, and coral fishery rose and for a season. mining industry Sicily first became active reign present sovereign. In a word, all useful arts have risen, slowly but steadily, insignificance to importance during past century.

III. At accession Charles Third, legislative functions government were vested in Crown: powers executive rightly belonging to sovereign, as lord paramount, were shared by him with barons and clergy, as lords paravail. This anomaly in government was soon rectified in one division kingdom. In realm Naples power distributing justice was taken feudatories, and given to royal judges in beginning reign Ferdinand. In realm Sicily, barons and clergy retained judicial administration until 1812, when, upon general reforma

206

IV. vicissitudes instruction have been no less remarkable than changes in government. In both countries tuition youth was entrusted to Jesuits, by whom it was conducted with skill and assiTransferred to regular and secular clergy, upon expulsion Jesuits in 1767, task education was discharged by priests exclusively, until 1808, when, upon general establishment schools in Neapolitan dominions, it devolved upon laymen and churchmen in common, by whom it is still exercised with lukewarm zeal. In Sicily duties tuition which, as in Naples, were transferred Jesuits to clergy in 1768, were restored to reinstated order in 1804; which time to present, Jesuits have been principal instructors Sicilian youth.

At era conquest, Neapolitan clergy formed a thirty-sixthpart whole and owned about two-thirdscontinental territory, and Sicilian clergy were scarcely less numerous and wealthy. A reform was fast approaching, effects which were destined to be permanent. Seven convents were suppressed in Naples, and 28 in Sicily by Ferdinand First about 1770. general suppression Neapolitan convents was reserved for Joseph Buonaparte, by whom it was undertaken and effected in 1808. In Sicily monastic orders are still numerous and powerful, but are shorn their ancient splendour. Neapolitan clergy formed in 1826 a 151st part, and Sicilian constitute at a 100th part respective populations Naples and Sicily. wealth church in Naples at least is believed to be moderate amount, and in Sicily, where it is proportionately larger, it is far being excessive, considering number regular and secular clergy.

Such have been fortunes popular education and religious worship during past century. In neither have ignorance and superstition been put to flight by spread sound principles in knowledge and religion.

If we examine what effect these changes have produced upon condition people, we shall find that they have in part wrought evil, but good whole. If result has been unfortunate in release court popular control both in Naples and Sicily, it has in all other respects been happy. nation is no longer divided into demesnal and feudal populations, but constitutes one people. commons are no longer subject to nobles and churchmen, but are governed by a single ruler. Justice, no more dealt out by baronial dependents, is administered by king's judges. Privileged orders have ceased to exist, and civic equality prevails in full force. Voluminous statutes are compressed into a single code. burthen taxation, once thrown upon middle orders, is now shared equally by all classes

of society. We may therefore assert that the condition of the people is materially improved, and that the improvement bids fair to proceed, if it be accompanied by an amendment of the executive power, according to which its progress will be faster or slower.

207

It would not be difficult to point out the changes most required in the present system of government, but the present would not be a fitting occasion.

With regard to the relative condition of the two divisions of the kingdom, and the comparative prospect of improvement in each, it may be anticipated that the progress of both will be simultaneous, and for this opinion several reasons may be offered.

The Two Sicilies have, externally and internally, advantages and disadvantages, conveniences and inconveniences, common to both, and peculiar to each, that require to be carefully investigated in order to be rightly understood.

The advantages enjoyed in common, are extent of territory, number of inhabitants, happiness of position, healthiness of climate, beauty of scenery, and fertility of soil. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies, larger and more populous than any of its neighbours, situated midway between Central Europe and Northern Africa, and favoured with a pleasant temperature and fruitful territory, offers an abundance of animal and vegetable substances, together with marine and mineral productions, in exchange for the commodities and merchandize of northern and tropical countries. The conveniences peculiar to each of its divisions, are the proximity of Naples to the Ionian Islands, and the neighbourhood of Sicily to Malta. With these military and naval stations, an active trade is carried on, much to the benefit of the kingdom at large.

The disadvantages, under which the Two Sicilies equally labour are the dryness and sterility of certain provinces in both countries, the want of navigable rivers and perennial streams, the height and direction of the Apennine chains, the insecurity of ports and harbours, and the frequency and destructiveness of eruptions and earthquakes. Many extensive districts, parched up for several months in the year, are perpetually barren. The rivers are for the most part shallow and rocky streams, and the watercourses, fed by mountain snows, disappear in the height of summer. The lofty and unbroken Apennine, running through both countries parallel to the coasts, renders the construction of crossroads difficult and expensive. The chief ports are not safe at all seasons, and the only good haven is the harbour of Syracuse; eruptions of Vesuvius, and earthquakes on both sides of the Faro happen almost every year.

The inconveniences peculiar to each division are the openness of Naples to foreign invasion, and the exposure of Sicily to epidemic disorders. Naples, unprotected by frontier fortresses or internal lines, has neither natural nor artificial means of repelling an invader. Sicily, on the other hand, lying nearer to Barbary and the Levant, is more exposed to the plague, which scourge has on more than one occasion depopulated her cities, crushed her industry, and destroyed her commerce.

Since then it appears, upon close examination, that the balance of good and evil is pretty fairly adjusted between the Two Sicilies, it may reasonably be expected, as it must assuredly be desired, that the future improvement of the kingdom will be common to both of its divisions.

INDEX

Sicilies, Progress of the Two Sicilies under the Spanish Bourbons, from the year 1734-5 to 1840. By John Goodwin, Esq., Her Majesty's Consul for Sicily...............................................................47

Page


177

Situation and Extent; Face of the Country; Soil and Climate; Chief Cities; Money s, Weights, and Measures...................................


47

State of the Two Sicilies at the Spanish Conquest, 1734-5.............

50

During the reign of Charles III, from 1734-35 to 1759 ….............

53

Under Ferdinand I., to 1806 ….......................................................

54

Naples under French dominion, to 1816........................................

59

Sicily under Ferdinand I., 1806-15 ….............................................

63

Naples and Sicily under Ferdinand I., to 1825 …...........................

70

Under Francis, to 1830....................................................................

72

Reign of Ferdinand II over the Two Sicilies, 1830-40 …..............

177

Naples: — Population, Agriculture, Manufactures, Inland Trade, Trade with Sicily, Foreign Trade, Government, Legislature, Justice, Finances, Army and Navy, Education, Clergy.....................................


177

Sicily: — Population, Peasantry, Agriculture, Sulphur Mines, Sulphur Contra, Manufactures, Fisheries, Commerce, Local Government, Charities, Finances, Edification, Church.....................


188

Past, Present, and Future State and Prospects of the Country.

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